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I concur and would go so far as to say that the above-referenced Intermountain West cities feature more greenery than the vast majority of cities in Southern California, the Central Coast and the Central Valley.

The region has a lot of sun, wind and open land. It would position well in the alternative energy future.

Good point. However, depending on how the technology develops, how much of the region will be used for alternative energy and how much population would that industry support?

For what its worth, I read yesterday that Elon Musk claimed that with current technology the energy needs of the entire United States could be served by 100 square miles of solar panels. Sounds like a lot until you superimpose that over a map.

Of course the panels would be distributed as well, not centrally located.

Boise , it will become the new destination for the generation that gets priced out of the Colorado front range cities and for the people who want to live close to the wilderness but still live in a large city .

Good point. However, depending on how the technology develops, how much of the region will be used for alternative energy and how much population would that industry support?

For what its worth, I read yesterday that Elon Musk claimed that with current technology the energy needs of the entire United States could be served by 100 square miles of solar panels. Sounds like a lot until you superimpose that over a map.

Of course the panels would be distributed as well, not centrally located.

I think overall the region will do very well compared to a majority of the country.

The region in general has had some of the highest rates of economic and job growth in the country for a long time and I don't see that changing.

The region is not for all but I do think there is a large amount of the population that really would want to move to the region if they were relocating or visiting.

Seems like mountain terrain is getting more and more popular when people consider moving. The rest is also close to the major cities on the West Coast.

I think in the big cities of the region domestic in-migration will increase and there will an increase in young families and also retirees.

The region in general doesn't have the amount of social disorder and polarization that exists in the rest of the country. The region seems to have a rather high quality of life with community relations being good.

Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front has a huge light and commuter rail system, excellent university campuses in each metro area and it is extremely clean and is way above it's weight when it comes to what they has to offer as far as entertainment, economy and infrastructure.

The larger metropolitan areas such Salt Lake City, Boise and Reno have excellent economies, nice scenery and lots of growth.

I do know that Salt Lake City, Boise and Reno have had a huge increase in housing costs. The region has traditional been affordable but has had a large increase in housing prices.

The region in general has relatively low taxes with good public services and infrastructure for the amount of tax paid. Except for Nevada and Washington they have state income tax but the property taxes and sales taxes tend to be very reasonable compared to much of the country.

I do think some of the smaller metropolitan areas will likely be more economically stagnant with lower job growth but with very reasonable housing costs. The smaller metropolitan areas of the region I think could do well with retirees and people who work remotely.

I think overall the region will do very well compared to a majority of the country.

The region in general has had some of the highest rates of economic and job growth in the country for a long time and I don't see that changing.

The region is not for all but I do think there is a large amount of the population that really would want to move to the region if they were relocating or visiting.

Seems like mountain terrain is getting more and more popular when people consider moving. The rest is also close to the major cities on the West Coast.

I think in the big cities of the region domestic in-migration will increase and there will an increase in young families and also retirees.

The region in general doesn't have the amount of social disorder and polarization that exists in the rest of the country. The region seems to have a rather high quality of life with community relations being good.

Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front has a huge light and commuter rail system, excellent university campuses in each metro area and it is extremely clean and is way above it's weight when it comes to what they has to offer as far as entertainment, economy and infrastructure.

The larger metropolitan areas such Salt Lake City, Boise and Reno have excellent economies, nice scenery and lots of growth.

I do know that Salt Lake City, Boise and Reno have had a huge increase in housing costs. The region has traditional been affordable but has had a large increase in housing prices.

The region in general has relatively low taxes with good public services and infrastructure for the amount of tax paid. Except for Nevada and Washington they have state income tax but the property taxes and sales taxes tend to be very reasonable compared to much of the country.

I do think some of the smaller metropolitan areas will likely be more economically stagnant with lower job growth but with very reasonable housing costs. The smaller metropolitan areas of the region I think could do well with retirees and people who work remotely.

Also, this region is expected to become even drier because of climate change. That can't be good for a region that is already considered to be relatively dry.

Idaho already has more water than most western states that have larger populations. Boise may only get about a foot of rain a year, but thanks to the mountains I don't expect it to go dry any time soon.

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